Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Over the last two days ESPN's The Sports Guy a.k.a. Bill Simmons has been using quotes from one of his, and my, all-time favorite movies Almost Famous to describe the NBA offseason. I thought this was a great idea. In fact I almost did it last year when breaking down the Arizona Football season Preview, but due to time constraints held back and simply titled the post "Eff it Dude, Let's Go Bowling". Well I decided to pick up where I, and Simmons left off, and give you Arizona's offseason wrap-up/Arizona Season Preview for the 2009 season.

"You must be here to fix the cable.Lord. You can imagine where it goes from here.He fixes the cable?Don't be fatuous, Jeffrey"

This goes to the U of A and IMG Academies for kicking Fox Sports Arizona out of Arizona Stadium for the upcoming seasons. Let's face it, FSN-Arizona has pretty much been FSN-Phoenix for awhile. And there were more than a few Arizona Football games I listened to on the radio with CBS Sports.com open to review the play by play. While it will definitely get a bit confusing, at lease the cable has been fixed and we should get more Arizona games here in town.

"Are they gonna hurt us, Walter?No, Donny. These men are cowards."This one goes out to the Arizona State Sun Devils. The punchless scummies up in Tempe are cowards. And unlike in 2006 and 2007 when they beat us to keep us out of a bowl game, 2008 was the opposite. They can't hurt us anymore, and they won't this year.

"Dude, this is a league game, this determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?" December 5, 2009 your Arizona Wildcats will travel to Hollywood to play the Trojans in the Colosseum. The Stoops era has been marked by close losses and huge upsets. Both of which apply to the recent past while facing USC. Arizona has a habit of showing up big and playing the Men of Troy close. There are many pundits out there expecting a down year for the Cats due to the losses of Money Mike T and Tui. The Cats though have a taste of success and a Bowl Game. The Cats aren't winning the Pac this year and aren't heading to the Rose Bowl unless a lot of lucky bounces come their way. But they very easily could be coming into the final game of the season needing a win to clinch a Bowl Berth as has been the case the last three years. This is a league game, this could make or break the Cats season.

"I f--k you in the ass next Wednesday instead. Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!"

This goes out to the #3 or #4 Big12 team. The Cats played in the Las Vegas Bowl last year, but I don't think I'm alone in wishing that they had played in a slightly more prestigious bowl. How about gunning for the Holiday Bowl this year. The Holiday Bowl is the place for the #2 Pac-10 Team, or the #3 Pac-10 team if the #1 Pac-10 team is in the National Championship. The Holiday Bowl takes place on Wednesday, December 30th this year.

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."This one goes out to the folks who call themselves Football prognosticators. Ted Miller at ESPN.com, the folks in the Pac-10 Media Poll, Jon Wilner, and everyone else out there who pick Arizona to finish low and have a down year. While they all have arguments that hold some water, namely missing Tui, Thomas, Britton, and Palmer, I don't think the Cats are taking a step back this year. They might not be in the Rose Bowl, but they aren't missing the Bowl season this year either.

"I'm throwing rocks tonight. Mark it, Dude."

Matt Scott, Nick Foles, or Bryson Beirne. Time will only tell which one will be under center against Central Michigan. I for one hope whoever takes the reigns performs because nothing destroys a football team and football season like a revolving door at the Quarterback position. When I was a Freshman I got to see 4 different QBs start for the 2 win football team. From my understanding Beirne has the best understanding of the system, Foles has the best accuracy and arm strength, Scott has a the most game experience and the most options. All three are neck and neck and neck heading into fall practices. My pick is Scott. He's got a decent arm and some wheels, and with some question marks on the line, specifically with a new guy guarding his blind side replacing Eben Britton, a QB with some ability to run and create might just be the best option for the Cats this season.

"Lebowski: Not a man, a way of life.

This one needs to be tweaked a little bit. Gronkowski: Not a man, a way of life. Big Freak, and to a lesser extent Chris Gronkowskit a.k.a. TOG (The Other Gronkowski) are Arizona's best chances for this season. The Cats will go only so far as the Gronkowski Brothers will take them. Chris gives them plenty of options from 2nd TE, to FB, and H-Back, he led the team in YPC last season and had 3 TDs on 8 catches. And Rob, we all know Rob's numbers 10 TDs on 47 catches, oh and he missed the first 3 games where the Cats put up ridiculous numbers.

Well that's about it for right now. We're less than 40 days from kick off against Central Michigan and their top dog Dan LeFevour. It should be a fun season, and I'm sure you'll see and hear more form us regarding the Cats and College Football in general over the next few weeks.